Tex-Mex Stuffed Peppers

Stuffed peppers are one of my favorite things to make, but one of my least favorite to eat. I’ll tell you why: No matter how you cut the peppers, or what vessel you eat them out of, they’re so impossible to eat. You can’t really cut into them with a fork without spilling the contents everywhere, so you need a knife. But, even when you have a knife, they slip-slide all over the plate. And I can never seem to get the perfect pepper-to-filling ratio for every bite.

But still, for who knows what reason, I love to make them. There’s something about stuffed items that’s just inherently comforting. And filling. And a great way to get in an extra serving of veggies.

I opted for a low-carb filling with this recipe, skipping out rice and using only protein-rich ground turkey and black beans instead. One pepper would make a great dinner for one person if served alongside a green salad.

Recipe: Tex-Mex Stuffed Peppers

Serves 4

What You’ll Need:

1 pound ground turkey
1 cup frozen corn
1/2 a 15oz. can black beans
1/2 large onion
4 bell peppers (any color — I like orange and yellow)
2 teaspoons paprika
1 teaspoon cumin
1 teaspoon cayenne pepper
1 teaspoon oregano
salt and pepper
olive oil
mexican cheese blend

What to Do: 

Prep peppers: Slice of the tops of the peppers. No need to cut too much off the top — just enough to take off the stem! Cut the good pepper part away from the seeds n’ stem stuff, chop, and set aside with the chopped onions.

Heat oil in a large, tall sided pan. Add turkey to pan, season with salt and pepper, and cook until no longer pink. Add the onions and peppers, and continue cooking. Add in paprika, cumin, cayenne, oregano, and a bit more salt and pepper.

After the onion and peppers are cooked, add the corn and black beans.Cook until heated through, and set aside to cool. (Optional: Stir in a handful of shredded cheese of your choice.)

Preheat oven to 350.

Place the peppers opening-up  in a square baking dish — they should be pretty snug in there, but not crowing each other. Drizzle with oil and sprinkle with salt and pepper.

Fill the peppers with the turkey and vegetable mixture, making sure they’re packed full!

Bake until heated through and pepper is tender, about 30 minutes. Remove from oven, sprinkle with cheese, and return to oven until cheese is melted, about 5 minutes.